evil
n. C / Un. something that is very bad, cruel, or harmful. It can also mean a force that causes suffering or goes against what is morally right.
n. profound immorality, wickedness, or a force that causes suffering and destruction. Often used in a philosophical or religious context to describe the antithesis of good.
The story is about the struggle between good and evil.
Many people believe that poverty is a social evil that the government must work harder to eliminate.
The philosopher argued that the existence of natural evil, such as earthquakes and disease, presents a significant challenge to the idea of a benevolent creator.
From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfel, from Proto-West Germanic ubil, from Proto-Germanic ubilaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂up(h₁)élos, a deverbal derivative of h₂wep(h₁)-, *h₂wop(h₁)- (“treat badly”). See -le for the supposed suffix. Alternatively from upélos (“evil”, literally “going over or beyond (acceptable limits)”), from Proto-Indo-European upo, *h₃ewp- (“down, up, over”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch euvel (“evil”), German übel (“bad, evil”), German Low German övel (“evil”), Luxembourgish iwwel (“queasy, nauseous; bad”), Gothic 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌻𐍃 (ubils, “bad, evil”). Compare Old Irish fel (“bad, evil”), from Proto-Celtic *uɸelos, and Hittite 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒍣 (huwapp-ⁱ, “to mistreat, harass”), 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒉺𒀸 (huwappa-, “evil, badness”).
From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfele (“badly, evilly”), a derivative of the adjective yfel (“bad, evil”). Often reinterpreted as the noun in the later language (as in "to speak evil").
Uncountable when referring to the abstract concept of wickedness; countable when referring to specific harmful things or 'evils' in society.